I am looking to buy a laptop to replace the family desktop. Do i get a Toshiba or Gateway? I wont buy anything other then toshiba or gateway. Maybe a compaq. ( all i use is toshiba, gateway, and compaq lol ) Post your thoughts on what laptop i should get. Thanks in advance

Honestly it depends on the specific laptop. Also to let you know that HP and Compaq are the same company in case you want to look in that direction. It depends on your range but I'd look for the following specs

At least 2GB Ram and I recommend 3GB because it'll make everything run more smoothly.
At least 160GB Hard Drive
Pretty much stuck with vista
dvd burner
and a core 2 duo processor but don't rule out amd turionx2 because there are many out there that will outperform an intel machine in the same range.